Timothy Zahn 2004 – Del Rey 22 years after The Battle of Yavin Site Rating =  Buy Now from Amazon.Com

SPOILER ALERT: This Will Spoil The Plot of the Book!

Luke Skywalker and his wife or three years, Mara Jade Skywalker, have met up with Talon Karrde on board the Errant Venture.  He informs them that a message was stolen from one of his outposts by a man named Dean Jinzler.  The message originated from the Chiss, the race of Grand Admiral Thrawn.  Luke and Mara agree to follow the message back to its source and investigate.

Once they make contact with the Chiss, they learn the intercepted message revealed that the Chiss had discovered the remnants of Outbound Flight, an attempt by the Old Republic to make contact in unknown regions that was destroyed by Thrawn and never heard from again. They meet with Aristocra Formbi of the Chiss who asks them to assist in the retrieval of Outbound Flight.

As Luke and Mara board the Chaf Envoy, they are nearly killed by a supposed malfunctioning cable onboard.  They also meet with General Drask, the military commander of the fleet.  While on the bridge, their ship is contacted by the Geroon Remnant, a species that Outbound Flight saved from captivity by the Vagaari race and whose entire population lives on this one ship.  Their leader is called Bearsh.  They wish to help in the search and pay their respects.  Another ship approaches; Formbi tells Luke and Mara that the diplomat from Coruscant is approaching.  His name is Dean Jinzler.

Mara and Luke learn that Jinzler is just an interested party who has no diplomatic association.  He says he has deeply personal reasons to find Outbound Flight.  They agree to let him stay for now without revealing him to the others.  Commander Chak Fel and several Stormtroopers (from Vader’s personal garrison the 501st) representing the Empire of the Hand also arrive onboard.  They claim they are there as escorts in case there is any trouble on the trip.

The Geroon’s worship Luke and ask him to help them find a new world for their species.  As they search the database, a fire breaks out on the Chaf Envoy.  Luke and Mara fight the fire successfully with the help of a couple Stormtroopers.  During the fire, someone steals Thrawn’s complete manual of Outbound Flight from the Chak Fel’s ship.

Formbi tells them that the path to the wreckage is very treacherous, but all agree to continue on.

After feeling a shutter in the ship, Luke and Mara find Jinzler in the generator room.  He says he saw someone creeping around but not able to learn who it was.  Jinzler reveals he works for Jorj Car’das who gave him the information on intercepting the incoming message to Karrde.  He says the Formbi knows Car’das as well.  He also reveals that his sister, whom he hated, was a Jedi onboard Outbound Flight.

It is learned that conduit worms were eating at the wires of the ships.

One of the Gerron’s, Estosh, is shot by an unknown person causing most of the other Gerron’s to refuse to leave their ship.

They finally reach the wreckage of Outbound Flight.  It is hanging on the edge of a cliff and mostly buried in the ground from its hard landing.  They decide to form a boarding party from the Chiss, the Gerron’s, the Jedi, the Imperials, and Jinzler.

It turns out that the ship is in fairly good condition.  Luke and Mara sense that many people are still alive onboard.  While out exploring, Luke, Mara and Drask encounter a young girl named Evlyn.  She directs them to a passage that locks them inside and drops them several floors.  They are told by someone named Guardian Presser, Evlyn’s uncle, that they are not to leave the turbo lift.  Eventually all the others fall into the same trap.

Presser agrees to talk to Jinzler since he recognizes the last name and he is the supposed ambassador.  Jinzler convinces Presser to release Formbi and allow them to meet Ulier and the rest of the Managing Council.  Formbi tells them that they must leave Chiss space.  The Council members argue over what to do next.  They also argue over Evelyn’s Jedi abilities.  Presser is very protective of her.

Luke and Mara are able to escape into a storeroom type area.  They realize that someone onboard is communicating with their ship.  Drask tells them no one with them would be using such a signal.  They run into Fel and the Stormtroopers who have also escaped.  They split up to investigate two other dreadnaughts and hopefully find the others.

A council member takes the other group on a tour of the facility.  They all have an obvious great disdain for Jedi.  They discuss the nursery in the lower area where there is less radiation.

Jinzler has a great since of jealousy for his sister.  His parents worked for the Jedi and his sister was chosen.  From then on Dean felt his parents love for her was much greater than for him.  Presser tells him that he remembers his sister from years earlier.

Making their way into another passage, Luke and Mara encounter little debris, but a large number of decayed bodies and bones.  They reach the bridge where they find a lightsaber and Chiss charric.  Drask had told them that there were never any Chiss onboard this ship.  Luke begins to suspect that the mysterious Vagaari race, who disappeared right after Outbound Flight, may in fact be the Chiss themselves!  Perhaps Thrawn created this race for his own purpose.

Drask and Fel head towards the nursery area.  They are attacked by several troopers who are guarding something unseen behind the nursery.  They set for stun and subdue all the snipers in the area.

Much of the group meets in the Council chamber to discuss how to handle the situation.  Uliar is not happy with the plan for reparations.  They want a new ship to help them fulfill their original mission.  Unfortunately contact with the outside world cannot be made from within Outbound Flight.  Someone must leave to contact the New Republic and the Chiss.  Presser is called to investigate an issue.  He thinks that perhaps they’ve inherited a batch of conduit worms.

Back on the bridge, Mara and Luke sense that several violent deaths occurred nearby.  They go off to investigate.  Suddenly, like a shot, a revelation hits Mara.  The Gerron’s may not be what they appear to be!  Mara suddenly realizes why she felt odd about the Gerron’s saying goodbye to their ship when they went into Outbound Flight.  The images in the background of the monitor on the Gerron ship were the exact same as an earlier transmission.  It was actually a recording playing in the background to give the illusion that children were playing on board!  The black marks they had seen on the side of the ship weren’t portholes; they were ejection ports for fighters!

Fel, Drask, and the Stormtroopers encounter a prison area with women and children inside.  The women reveal that the children inside are Force sensitive and they are being held captive.

In the council room, Uliar and Jinzler argue over who is causing the strange sound on the comlinks.  Bearsh stands up and the wolvkils they had around their necks come to life and begin attacking the Chiss along with the other Gerrons.  All the Chiss warriors are killed, Formbi is injured, but the rest of the group builds a small bunker from chairs and gets inside, trapped by the wolvkils.  The Gerron’s show they have many line creepers that will destroy the ship and leave them all to die.  After they leave, Uliar tells the group he recognized the Gerron’s language – they are the Vagaari!  They want to turn off the signal jammer, but can’t do so without a comlink.  Jinzler convinces Evlyn to use her Jedi abilities to pull one off one of the dead soldiers.  Many of the council are shocked by all of this.  Using the Force, she retrieves the item and Jinzler contacts Luke and Mara to tell them of the attack.

Mara, Luke and Presser are together when the call comes in.  Presser tells them that most of the Outbound Flight peacekeepers have been killed.  They believe it was done by Estosh, the Geroon/Vaagari that was injured earlier.  It was a setup so they could ambush the others later on.  They are attacked by several Vaagari including Bearsh.  Mara wipes out the first wolvkils with her saber while Luke puts several others to sleep using the Force.  Most of the Vaagari are killed, but Bearsh escapes.

The Imperials and Drask are also attacked and successfully defeat the Vaagari.  Fel and Drask agree to share control over the 501st since Drask was formerly a ground assault commander.

Mara rescues those in the council room.  Jinzler convinces her to take Evlyn with her.  Luke is a bit surprised once they rejoin him.  They try to drive the Vaagari back to the turbolifts.

There are a series of other skirmishes throughout the ship.  Fel, Drask, and the Troopers are under the heaviest fire.  They eventually overcome the Vaagari and go to the aid of Luke and Mara.  The Troopers tell them that there are still many more Vaagari to battle.

They contact the Vaagari who state that their aim is to take down the entire Chiss race.  During this conversation, Luke is secretly looking into what the Vaagari have been up to.  Evlyn tags along.  They realize that an explosive has been set and detonates on them exposing them to the outside air which has little oxygen.  A blast door suddenly flies open and Mara pulls them back in.

The battle is over and the Vaagari had taken off in a dreadnaught.

Most of the survivors are in the infirmary and they discuss the events that transpired.  Mara questions why Formbi had requested so much additional help with this investigation.  She also realizes that the reason Formbi told them earlier they were not allowed to use their lightsabers was to keep any would-be attackers from realizing what they were up against.  Formbi admits that they knew the Gerron’s were Vaagari.  It turns out that Car’das told Formbi what to look for.  Drask confesses that he set up the falling cable incident earlier in order to see a test of Jedi abilities.  They form a plan to get all the line creepers out of the wiring and then short them out with salt water.  Just then a new disruption starts outside and the doors are blown open.  This time, however, the intruders are not enemies.  It is Captain Talshib from the Chaf Envoy.

They learn that there is a hyper capable ship docked somewhere on Outbound Flight.  The hyperdrive was disassembled, but it will still fly.  Mara tells Jinzler that if he can fix it she can fly it.  Mara finds Luke regaining consciousness.  She tells him Formbi and Drask gave them Chiss signals so they will be allowed to enter Chiss space.  Jinzler also realizes that the lightsaber they found on the bridge was his sisters.  Luke and Mara depart Outbound Flight to attempt to catch up with the Vaagari.  Luke tells Mara they should try and retake the dreadnaught the Vaagari were flying.

After a short time, they manage to infiltrate the ship.  They immediately come under attack.  They use some of the dead Vaagari as puppets with the Force and send them ahead to distract their attackers.  After the fight, they recognize one of the dead Vaagari is Bearsh.  There was no time to relax as a droideka attacks!  Mara begins to think that the Vaagari are actually after droid technology in hopes of creating an army to attack lesser civilizations.  After several attempts they finally destroy the droideka in dazzling fashion using Jinzler’s sister’s lightsaber and are able to reach the command deck.  Mara watches the rear while Luke enters.

Luke is met with more Vaagari and several wolvkils who attack him.  The fighting stops and Estosh addresses them.  The ship leaves hyperspace and they have reached the Chiss Brask Oto Command Station.  Accepting defeat, Estosh releases a poison that will kill everyone on board the ship.  Mara throws her lightsaber and hits the viewport, blowing out the window.  The poison is sucked out into space.  Chiss begin to attack the dreadnaught.  Luke fires the cannon into space in the pattern that Formbi told them.  The Chiss understand and the tied begins to turn.  The Vaagari figure things out as well and begin retreating to dock inside the dreadnaught, now under Luke and Mara’s control.  They assume the larger ship is still friendly!  Luke agrees that now that can contact the Chiss with Formbi’s message.

The tenants of Outbound Flight decide to live within the Empire of the Hand, as they want nothing to do with anything called “Republic” or “Jedi”.  Jinzler will be going with them.  As Luke and Mara fly home, they discuss the implications of all of this.  It appears the Chiss did all of this simply to draw out the Vaagari to destroy them.  They wonder if it was another of Thrawn’s plans to prepare the galaxy for some new outside threat around the corner.  Luke and Mara know that their New Jedi Order would be up to the challenge.

Comments

As I read this book, I went through three distinct feelings.

The first was definite excitement. Like many Star Wars fans, the Outbound Flight story is one I was looking forward to reading. The notion that the ship itself was discovered had me turning pages faster than I could read them. Through a little mystery and intrigue on to of that, and I was set.

The second feeling was apprehension. Once we arrive on Outbound Flight, I didn’t particularly enjoy the scenario that was set up with the survivor’s. I wanted to learn about the flight and how things ended up, but answers weren’t really coming out.

The final feeling was being let down. Don’t mistake that as not liking the book. It just didn’t go in the direction I’d hoped and as a result I wasn’t as satisfied with the ending.

A few things I enjoyed…..

When Luke and Mara had helmets of Stormtroopers on….great description and interesting ideas

I also enjoyed the discussion about marriage and being a Jedi. The notion of the New Jedi Order being introduced into the argument to support marriage was a good touch.

I liked the new Chiss characters, Dean Jinzler, and the Imperials. All the characters worked well and I had little trouble distinguishing them, which can sometimes be an issue with so many strange names.

A few things I disliked…..

I grew tired of Mara and Luke constantly having “feelings” that something was going on. I appreciate that it is a Jedi trait, but after a while it felt more like “spider sense” from a comic book.

I also didn’t like the revelation that Mara made regarding the Geroon’s and the Vagaari. It seemed to me that the connection she made was one you either make immediately or you don’t make at all.

The book leaves you many unanswered questions. A lot more than I wanted, but it did open up a lot of possibilities for things in the future so I suppose I can mostly overlook that.

Overall, this is a worthy addition to the Thrawn/Outbound Flight saga that Zahn has spend so many years working on.

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